Full speed ahead: Streetcar operator will run more streetcars

Rebecca Swartzendruber, of Norwood, and her two-year-old great nephew, Gus, along with good friend, Sara Dicken, of downtown, get off the The Cincinnati Bell Connector at 5th and Walnut. The streetcar begin operation a week ago.(Photo: The Enquirer/ Liz Dufour)Buy Photo

After a week of battling over streetcar delays, Transdev, the company that operates the Cincinnati Bell Connector, announced Thursday night it would run enough streetcars on weekends to meet demand.

"Transdev welcomes the ... calls to operate more streetcars," said Ruth Otte, a Transdev spokeswoman. "We will add extra service to meet weekend demand and continue to work closely with (the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority) to make the Cincinnati Streetcar a great success for the city and the people of Cincinnati."

Otte said ridership levels on weekends have been from 300 percent to more than 500 percent of what SORTA projected before the start of the service.

"The streetcar has proven to be a huge hit and the voice of the people has been heard loud and clear," said Derek Bauman, a streetcar supporter who has been helping educate riders about protocols. "We have asked for more and quicker service and it's encouraging to see officials working collaboratively to achieve that goal."

It hasn't been an easy path to the weekend fix.

Mayor John Cranley convened a late day meeting Wednesday with 10 stakeholders to discuss solutions to hold Transdev accountable.

After that, on Thursday, the city and transit authority teamed up and demanded the additional service.

If it didn't comply, Cincinnati city officials threatened to take the operator to court, arguing the city's contract requires that passengers wait no more than 15 minutes for a streetcar to arrive at any stop, known in the industry as "headway."

"It is impossible to meet the contractual headway requirement obligation without running more streetcars," said Jason Dunn, chairman of the SORTA board. "Transdev must make the required adjustments to meet ridership demand, each and every day, and especially on weekends when demand is at its highest."

The Thursday afternoon press release marks the first time in weeks the city and SORTA have agreed on how to proceed.

An exchange of letters between SORTA and Transdev on Oct. 4, obtained by The Enquirer, show a tough stance from SORTA, demanding performance requirements be met.

Transdev Services CEO of rail, Kenneth Westbrook, fired back the same day. He blamed "overwhelming ridership," calling the crowds an "unprecedented success."

Large crowds on platforms mean streetcars leave late, there are more riders than projected resulting in longer boarding times and there is little time built into the schedule to account for delays, Westbrook said. He went on to blame the city for some problems.

Among them: Un-sequenced traffic signals, unanticipated traffic blocking roads and intersections and vehicles parked in the right of way.

"As you know, these are city responsibilities to manage and correct," he wrote. "In order to further address this issues, we need to adjust the schedule or put additional streetcars into service..."

Westbrook added that SORTA agreed to an adjustment period of six months in order to understand demand.

SORTA oversees operations, but it is Transdev that contracts with the city to run the streetcar.

Between the streetcar's opening on Sept. 9 and Oct. 4, the last full days of available ridership data, 147,206 people have ridden the streetcar, according to SORTA. Weekends have been particularly busy and delays common.

Last weekend Transdev ran two streetcars, which proved too few. Over Oktoberfest weekend, when 650,000 people poured into downtown, the city argued with Transdev about how many streetcars to operate, finally settling on four each day, but only after a private donor promised to cover the cost if ridership didn't. It did, but the city said Transdev is responsible for meeting contract obligations. Delays have frustrated riders and council members, who want a good experience so people come back.

"Of course more streetcars should be operated on the weekends to meet the demand," Mayor John Cranley said. "Streetcars that have already been paid for by taxpayers should certainly be used."

SORTA and the city may be on the same page now, but City Manager Harry Black was already demanding action from Transdev earlier this week.

Earlier this week he wrote a letter to SORTA, saying, "If the headway problem is not resolved once streetcar operations normalize in the coming weeks, the City expects that SORTA will motivate Transdev to take any and all necessary steps to meet its contractual obligations," Black wrote. "We have every reason to hope that Transdev will cooperate with SORTA and the City to meet its obligations, but it is important to be clear about expectations."

At that time SORTA's CEO Dwight A. Ferrell told the city it would cost more, but he's since come to agree with the city's assessment that Transdev is responsible.